Remedies under Wisconsin’s Lemon Law

If you have a car or other motor vehicle that qualifies as a lemon under Wisconsin’s Lemon Law, you have a few remedies to which you are entitled to claim against the manufacturer. The 3 available remedies are:

Request the manufacturer to provide a comparable replacement vehicle plus pay your “collateral costs.” The manufacturer can override your request for replacement with a refund of the full purchase price. The manufacturer has, in most consumer vehicle cases, 45 days to provie the replacement vehicle or refund. The manufacturer does not get any deductions for mileage or use under this remedy, regardless of whether the manufacturer provides the replacement vehicle or opts to give you a refund.

Request the manufacturer to pay a full refund of the purchase price plus sales tax, finance charges, the amount you paid at the time of sale, and “collateral costs.” The manufacturer gets to deduct from the refund amount a “reasonable amount for mileage and use. the manufacturer must provide you with the refund within 30 days of it receiving your notice of the lemon law claim and request for remedy.

For leased vehicles, request the manufacturer to pay a refund of the current value of the written lease and a refund of all amounts paid uner the lease plus sales tax and "collateral costs.” The manufacturer gets to deduct from the refund amount a “reasonable amount for mileage and use.

“Collateral costs” are the expenses you incurred in connection with the repair of a defect, including the costs of obtaining alternative transportation.

If the manufacturer fails to provide you with a remedy under the lemon law, you can bring a claim to enforce your rights in the courts. You can recover your remedy under the law plus the costs of the lawsuit, including reasonable attorney’s fees.

A consumer can bring, and must bring, a lemon law lawsuit within 36 months of the date of first delivery of the car to a consumer.